Commercialisation of innovation can boost SMEs

Matsi Modise, MD of SiMODiSA

The research found key challenges within the sector, one of them being improvement of commercialisation of innovation to boost the creation of small and medium enterprises.

SiMODiSA has been working on a solution to overcome these challenges through their regular Start-Up Thursday (SUT) sessions. The sessions are hosted on every third Thursday of the month with key industry players in Business and Finance.

"The survey is an important intervention as it provides first hand insights around the main factors which negatively affect entrepreneurs. We believe that the findings provide an outline of building an enabling ecosystem which will not only lead to a flourishing SMEs base but create sustainable jobs," said Matsi Modise, managing director of SiMODiSA.

Improvement needed

South Africa needs to improve commercialisation of innovation in universities to boost the creation of SMEs. This is one of the key areas identified in SiMODiSA's research on constraints which are hindering the growth of start-up and scale-up businesses in South Africa.

Some of the key cross-cutting issues identified in the survey include the following:

• Skills deficit: Entrepreneurs need a myriad of skills, training and practical exposure.

• Funding: SA is lagging behind, particularly in the area of early stage angel investors.

• Remote location & limited access to markets: SA needs integration.

• Government procurement limitations: Entrepreneurs/SMEs should be able to access and bid on government procurement opportunities in a smooth and efficient manner.

• Limited commercialisation of innovation from universities.

Start-Up Thursday is a regular gathering of Gauteng's funders, founders and ecosystem builders in the South African entrepreneurship ecosystem. This platform showcases the latest start-ups, a thought provoking keynote speaker and a start-up/scale-up master class by an industry expert.